ERP Software for Fisheries & Aquaculture
Fisheries and aquaculture businesses operate at the intersection of natural resource management, perishable logistics, and increasingly stringent food-safety and sustainability regulations. Commercial fishing fleets, salmon and shrimp farms, and integrated seafood processors must manage catch-weight transactions from vessel or pond through grading, processing, and cold-chain distribution. FSMA traceability requirements, FDA Seafood HACCP regulations, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) chain-of-custody certification, and species-labeling (country of origin, catch area) requirements all demand robust ERP lot-management and compliance-documentation capabilities.
Compare ERP Systems for Fisheries & Aquaculture
Select up to 4 ERP vendors to compare side by side. Filtered to show systems with strong fisheries & aquaculture capabilities.
Key Challenges for Fisheries & Aquaculture
Managing catch-weight throughout the supply chain — from vessel landing weights through grading, portioning, and finished-product yield — with accurate cost and inventory tracking at every step
Maintaining species, catch-area, fishing-method, and vessel traceability from harvest through consumer sale to meet FDA FSMA Traceability Rule and country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements
Coordinating highly perishable live and fresh seafood inventory across multiple temperature zones with FEFO rotation and real-time shelf-life monitoring
Managing MSC, ASC, and GlobalG.A.P. aquaculture chain-of-custody documentation and mass-balance reporting for sustainability certification
Handling the variability of wild-catch volume and species composition — which changes daily — in production planning and customer order fulfillment
Tracking feed conversion ratios, mortality rates, biomass, and veterinary medicine withdrawal periods in aquaculture grow-out operations
Integrating vessel or farm management systems with shore-side ERP for automated catch-record transfer and customs or import documentation
Best Fisheries & Aquaculture ERP for SMBs
Recommended for companies with $10M–$250M revenue and 10–200 employees.
Aptean Food & Beverage ERP
mid-rangeCovers catch-weight, lot traceability, species and catch-area coding, HACCP compliance recordkeeping, and cold-chain inventory management for seafood processors.
Best for: Mid-size seafood processors and integrated fishing companies
Deacom
mid-rangeSingle-database ERP with native catch-weight, perishable inventory management, quality testing integration, and regulatory compliance features used by seafood processors.
Best for: Small to mid-size seafood processors needing a fully integrated platform
ProcessPro
mid-rangeProcess-manufacturing ERP with strong quality management, batch traceability, and regulatory compliance for fish and seafood processors producing value-added or formulated seafood products.
Best for: Value-added seafood manufacturers with complex product formulations
Sage X3
mid-rangeFlexible ERP with seafood industry extensions covering catch-weight, species traceability, landed-cost management, and international trade compliance for seafood importers and exporters.
Best for: Seafood importers, exporters, and mid-size processors with international operations
Datacor
mid-rangeProcess-manufacturing ERP with strong lot traceability, quality management, and regulatory compliance documentation; applicable to formulated seafood and specialty marine ingredient manufacturers.
Best for: Specialty marine ingredient and value-added seafood manufacturers
BatchMaster
mid-rangeRecipe-based process-manufacturing ERP with strong batch traceability, co-product management, and FDA compliance documentation for seafood processors producing value-added and formulated products.
Best for: Specialty seafood processors with recipe-based production
Best Fisheries & Aquaculture ERP for Enterprise
Recommended for companies with $250M+ revenue and complex multi-site operations.
SAP S/4HANA
enterpriseEnterprise platform with deep catch-weight, supply-chain finance, global trade management, and full lot traceability from vessel to consumer for large integrated fishing companies and seafood corporations.
Best for: Large integrated fishing companies, seafood trading houses, and global processors
Oracle ERP Cloud
enterpriseFull cloud ERP with advanced supply-chain management, global trade compliance, and analytics for large seafood enterprises with complex international sourcing and distribution networks.
Best for: Global seafood corporations with complex international operations
Microsoft Dynamics 365
enterpriseScalable ERP with a growing ecosystem of seafood and food-industry ISV add-ons, Power BI for catch and yield analytics, and strong traceability capabilities for enterprise seafood processors.
Best for: Enterprise seafood processors standardizing on the Microsoft stack
Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage
enterpriseIndustry-specific enterprise ERP with native catch-weight, lot traceability, quality management, and supply-chain transparency features for large seafood processing and distribution enterprises.
Best for: Large seafood processors and distribution networks
Essential ERP Capabilities for Fisheries & Aquaculture
Catch-weight management from vessel or pond receipt through portioning, processing, and finished-product yield
Species, catch-area, fishing-method, and vessel-of-origin traceability for FDA FSMA Traceability Rule and COOL compliance
MSC, ASC, and GlobalG.A.P. aquaculture chain-of-custody mass-balance tracking and certification report generation
Perishable lot management with real-time shelf-life tracking, FEFO rotation, and automated temperature-exceedance alerts
Aquaculture biomass and stocking-density management with feed conversion ratio and mortality tracking
Veterinary medicine and treatment record-keeping with withdrawal-period monitoring for aquaculture operations
Seafood HACCP plan documentation with critical control point monitoring records and corrective action workflows
Landed-cost management for imported seafood including duty, freight, inspection fees, and currency conversion
Integration with vessel trip reporting systems and electronic monitoring (EM) data for automated catch-record transfer
Cold-chain distribution management with multi-temperature zone inventory and real-time shelf-life reporting for fresh, chilled, and frozen product
Fisheries & Aquaculture ERP Cost Ranges
SMB
$35,000 – $130,000
10–45 users
Implementation: $30,000 – $110,000
Mid-Market
$130,000 – $550,000
45–175 users
Implementation: $110,000 – $475,000
Enterprise
$550,000 – $3,500,000+
175–700+ users
Implementation: $800,000 – $5,500,000+
Implementation Considerations
Confirm native catch-weight support as a baseline requirement — the majority of seafood ERP failures involve inadequate catch-weight handling that surfaces only in production
Map species, catch-area, and fishing-method data structures carefully; FDA FSMA Traceability Rule Key Data Elements (KDEs) must be captured as structured fields, not free-text notes
Plan for perishable inventory performance requirements — fresh seafood operations have order and inventory cycles measured in hours, so ERP response times and mobile access must be validated under realistic load
Engage the QA and food-safety team early to define HACCP CCP monitoring workflows and corrective action processes before configuration begins
Evaluate MSC/ASC mass-balance reporting requirements with the certification body’s auditor before selecting a platform; reporting structures vary by certification standard and species
Frequently Asked Questions
What ERP capabilities are essential for a seafood processor?
The non-negotiable capabilities for seafood processors are: native catch-weight management, species and catch-area lot traceability, perishable inventory management with FEFO rotation, FDA Seafood HACCP compliance recordkeeping, landed-cost management for imported product, and integration with cold-chain warehouse management. Any platform requiring significant customization to deliver these core capabilities should be evaluated with caution.
What is the FDA FSMA Traceability Rule and how does ERP support it?
The FDA FSMA Traceability Rule (Section 204) requires food businesses handling High Risk Foods — which include many seafood species — to capture and maintain Key Data Elements (KDEs) at Critical Tracking Events (CTEs) from harvest through retail sale. ERP systems support compliance by capturing KDEs (traceability lot codes, location identifiers, dates) as structured data at each CTE, linking them through the supply chain, and generating traceability reports that can be provided to FDA within 24 hours upon request.
What is MSC chain-of-custody certification and how does ERP manage it?
MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) chain-of-custody certification requires seafood processors to maintain mass-balance records proving that the volume of MSC-certified product sold does not exceed the volume of MSC-certified raw material purchased. ERP lot management tracks MSC-certified and non-certified inventory separately, applies species and fishery identifiers at receipt, and generates mass-balance reports by species and certification code for annual MSC audits.
How does ERP handle aquaculture biomass and inventory management?
Aquaculture ERP modules manage stocking-density records by pond, tank, or pen; track biomass using periodic sample-weight data combined with feeding and mortality records; calculate feed conversion ratios (FCR); maintain veterinary treatment and withdrawal-period records; and generate harvest projections based on growth curves. This information integrates with the processing ERP to support harvest scheduling and yield planning.
How is country-of-origin labeling (COOL) managed in seafood ERP?
COOL requires that seafood sold at retail be labeled with the country of origin and, for wild-caught fish, the method of production (wild-caught or farm-raised). ERP lot management captures country of origin, catch area (FAO zone or specific fishery), and production method at receipt and carries these attributes through processing into finished-product labels and shipping documentation, supporting both USDA COOL compliance and customer retailer labeling requirements.
Can ERP support a company that both fishes and processes its own catch?
Yes. Vertically integrated fishing and processing companies use ERP to link vessel trip records (catch volume, species, location) directly to shore-side receiving and processing transactions. This creates a fully integrated lot genealogy from catch through consumer sale without manual re-entry at the dock. Vessel management system integration (via API or EDI) is the critical enabling capability that must be evaluated during the vendor selection process.
What are the biggest compliance risks for seafood companies not using an ERP?
Without ERP, seafood companies face significant risk of FSMA Traceability Rule violations (inability to produce KDE records within 24 hours), Seafood HACCP recordkeeping deficiencies, MSC/ASC mass-balance audit failures, mislabeling violations under COOL, and import refusal for failure to maintain required import records under FDA’s Prior Notice requirements. The FDA has substantially increased seafood import surveillance and domestic inspection frequency since 2022.
How long does a fisheries or seafood processor ERP implementation take?
Small single-site seafood processors typically go live in 4 to 6 months. Mid-size operations with multiple processing lines, import operations, and MSC/ASC certification requirements should plan for 6 to 10 months. Vertically integrated fishing companies with vessel integration and multi-site processing operations commonly need 10 to 18 months, particularly where vessel management system integration and multi-country trade compliance add complexity.
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